Busy! Busy! Busy!

It has been a long time since I posted, and I do apologize to anyone who has been following and waiting for pictures of my work. Well, you're going to have to wait a little longer. Sorry. Our camera is out of commission. I grabbed the ones below from Facebook…

I have been rather busy the last several weeks. Not quite as productive as I would have liked, but I finished a second pattern. (YAY!) Here's a brief synopsis of my crazy, but fun life:

Life has been… trying, and there has been heartache and joy intermixed with all of the "normal".

Some very good friends of mine lost an infant in their family to SIDS only 4 days before my twin sister had her first baby. 

My nephew, Caleb Hezekiah, was born 5 weeks and 2 days before his due date and spent 9 days in the NICU but is healthy and happy now and we all love him dearly.
This was taken the day he came home from the hospital and I was privileged to be the first one other than his parents to hold him. So, don't tell the rest of my sisters, but I will forever be his favorite aunt… because I said so.

We also had his baby shower this weekend and I always forget how much work those things are until about 2 days before the event… 

Being the over-achiever that I am however I couldn't just stick with sewing and all of the other craziness. I made jam this past week! With help from my friend and her children we picked almost 40 pounds of strawberries and made LOTS of really yummy freezer jam and pancake syrup. I usually make jam every 2 years but because of my sister getting married last year I didn't make any and our supply, although painstakingly rationed, was finally finished off this winter.

We had a lot of fun making the jam and the kids were eager to learn as neither they nor their mom/my friend Emily had made jam before. I think the best part (well, other than watching them scoop mashed up strawberries into their mouths with their fingers) was seeing their faces when they got to taste the finished product!

And… I was finally able to quit my job at the hospital to work for myself full time! My last day was this past Thursday and it was really bittersweet. I was blessed to work with some really great people and made some friends that I hope will be life long.

~ Claire ~